China Focus: Global cultural heritage leaders celebrate legacy and collaboration at Palace Museum's centenary forum

BEIJING, Oct. 17 (Xinhua) -- Before flying back to London, Nicholas Cullinan, director of the British Museum, posted over ten photos from his first-ever visit to the Palace Museum on Instagram, with a message written in Chinese: "Happy 100th Birthday!"

On October 10, the Palace Museum celebrated the centenary amid a gentle rain of autumn. Cullinan toured an elegant garden, the hospital for conservation, and "A Century of Stewardship," an exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the museum's founding. He described the experience as "extraordinary."

Cullinan was among the international guests attending the 7th Taihe Forum. The forum, held from October 9 to 13, was organized by the Palace Museum and the Beijing Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation. It brought together over 300 attendees from cultural heritage sites, museums, and research institutions from 26 countries spanning five continents.

This 2025 Taihe Forum focused on three key themes: joint growth of museums and communities, green and sustainable development for world heritage sites, and the "culture + technology" of museums. Worldwide professionals extended their congratulations and shared insights on concerted cultural heritage endeavors.

LIGHT OF CIVILIZATION

On October 10, 1925, the Palace Museum was established. From imperial residence to a public museum, it has undergone a century of extraordinary transformation.

It survived the ravages of war and the hardships of relocating its collections. Once overgrown with weeds and damaged by years of neglect, the ancient palace buildings have been gradually restored to their original splendor. Artifacts scarred by centuries of wear have regained vitality after meticulous restoration. The museum's collection now exceeds 1.95 million pieces, the largest of any museum in China. Its growing array of digital resources and creative cultural products has captured the imagination of younger generations.

The once "Forbidden" City has now become one of the most sought-after cultural landmarks in China, and indeed, around the world. It stands as both a symbol of Chinese civilization and a vital window through which the world comes to know China.

"Safeguarding the cultural essence of the Chinese nation for a hundred years, and passing it on to future generations, is a tremendous contribution and a truly unusual accomplishment," said Jannat Ismailova, director of the State Museum of the History of Uzbekistan.

Hiroyuki Shimatani, president of the National Institutes for Cultural Heritage and director of the Museum of the Imperial Collections in Japan, initiated his bond with the Palace Museum in 1995. He visited the museum for a business trip, and as a devoted admirer of ancient Chinese calligraphers, he explored the Palace Museum's exhibition marking its 70th anniversary.

"At that time, China had not yet experienced the current enthusiasm for museums and cultural heritage. There were not many visitors," Shimatani recalled, adding that he felt the Palace Museum was then still in the early stages of developing a more engaging exhibition environment.

Over the following three decades, Shimatani has returned on over ten occasions. The dramatic advances in exhibition designs and curatorial approaches amaze him.

On the evening of October 10, he and other forum guests visited the themed exhibition "A Century of Stewardship," where a few of China's national treasures are being showcased. However, unlike 30 years ago, Shimatani was no longer able to view the artifacts. Long lines of eager visitors were still waiting after sunset.

"Throughout history, Chinese culture has always been an essential part of Asian civilization. As the treasure house of Chinese culture, the Palace Museum holds an extremely important position and exerts profound influence," Shimatani said.

"I knew it was huge. I had seen many photographs and films. But when you enter the gate, it's a very special feeling. The weather was very beautiful that day, and it was a kind of shock and an impression of serenity," said Laurent Salomé, director of the National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon, about his first trip to the Palace Museum a few years ago.

Salomé added that the Palace Museum and Versailles share the concept of harmony with nature and the cosmos.

PATH OF COLLABORATION

Jebrael Nokandeh, director of the National Museum of Iran, has a fondness for the Palace Museum. "Every time I hear the name 'Palace Museum,' a great feeling rises in my heart. Every corner of the museum is full of history and thinking."

According to Nokandeh, the two institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding, under which research fellows from the Palace Museum will travel to Iran to conduct joint studies on China-related artifacts.

"We have a collection of over 1,000 pieces of Chinese ceramics, mainly from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), along with some Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) artifacts," said Nokandeh, adding he also noted artifacts in the Palace Museum, which bear Persian inscriptions and testify to a peaceful cultural Silk Road.

From Sino-Iranian dialogue between civilizations to Sino-French artistic exchanges, the path of cooperation continues to expand.

"We have many possibilities to keep collaborating with the Palace Museum, including historical films, ceramics, textiles, or classic subjects. But I would also imagine something about the history and how those palaces worked," Salomé said.

"For the French, China is very exotic, but at the same time, we have things in common," he told Xinhua.

The Director of the National Museum of Asian Art (NMAA) in the United States, Chase Robinson, praised the Palace Museum's investment in conservation labs. He also noted ongoing exchanges between research fellows, curators and conservation specialists from both sides.

Jan Stuart, Melvin R. Seiden Curator of Chinese Art with the NMAA, added that conservation professionals from both institutions have ongoing conversations via WeChat and telephone, and the NMAA's head of scientific research has visited the Palace Museum on numerous occasions.

"I think the long-term, sustainable success for any museum in our globalized world is collaboration and openness," said Robinson, who emphasized the importance of continuing current efforts that include fostering dialogue, expanding outreach, and sharing collections and expertise.

DIALOGUE OF HARMONY

The Taihe Forum, first initiated by the Palace Museum in 2016, is an international platform for exchange and cooperation.

For Nokandeh, museums may differ in type, collections, and institutional structures, but their functions and missions are fundamentally aligned.

"The forum would become a significant shared memory for both the Palace Museum and the global museum community," he said.

Speaking of his conversations with worldwide colleagues at the forum, Salomé said, "We feel the same emotion and the same necessity to preserve and to transmit. As soon as you work on a very particular subject, you have a global community and the world becomes very small."

Salomé said that over the past 100 years, the Palace Museum has made significant progress towards achieving supreme harmony. "They have to remain a symbol of harmony and bring people together in a place that was forbidden before."

Yannick Lintz, president of the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts in France, noted that with every visit, she discovered new restorations and exhibitions, sensing the museum's ever?growing vitality.

"I should say that the British Museum is almost 275 years old. So 100 years seems quite new to me. l look forward to what the next hundred years will bring," Cullinan told Xinhua. ■